Workers have completed construction of a new emergency operations center at the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Kentucky, the agency said Tuesday.
Built with steel-reinforced concrete walls, the new 3,500-square-foot emergency building should withstand tornado-scale winds, according to a press release from DOE’s Office of Environmental Management. It replaces the old center located inside the 1950s-era site’s C-300 Central Control Building,
During power outages, the new emergency center can use a 980-gallon backup diesel generator to produce electricity for up to 72 hours without refueling, according to DOE.
Paducah’s DOE cleanup contractor, Jacobs-led Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, built the center and is in charge of emergency operations, including fire and security and medical emergencies. DOE signed off on a $5.4-million task order for the new emergency center in April 2022.